Being a rabbi, I’m accustomed to b’mitzvah ceremonies; they’re part of my professional life. But having my daughter, Ayelet, called to the Torah offers a very different perspective.

In late August, we celebrated my daughter’s bat mitzvah at Or Hadash, surrounded by family and our community. For American Jews, this is a pretty regular event. However, my daughter was the only girl in her school to partake in a meaningful Jewish ceremony, not just a party. Unfortunately, many Israelis still view the Torah as something exclusively for men and don’t consider bat mitzvah a significant Jewish milestone.

Following Or Hadash’s customs, my daughter read from the Torah and Haftara and delivered a short sermon. She chose to speak about a rather unusual verse: “If any party is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale the body on a stake, you must not let the corpse remain on the stake overnight but must bury it the same day.”

I’ll admit, when she first told me about her choice, I was a bit confused. Why would she select such a grim situation? She saw the verse as a lesson in basic human dignity. It doesn’t matter how terrible someone’s actions may have been; they still deserve respect. She went on to discuss the polarized situation in Israel today, highlighting how it’s easy to mistake disagreement for disrespect. In the end, she emphasized our commitment to safeguarding each other’s humanity and dignity.

It was a truly beautiful moment. Standing there as a proud mother, I was filled with gratitude for the village in which we’re raising our children—a vibrant, warm, egalitarian, and beautiful community. If only our many friends at TBE could have been with us; it would have been even more perfect.

*Rabbi Kafni Kellen is a rabbi at Or Hadash, our sister congregation in Haifa.